The Social Archeology Channel

The year of 1977 was one filled with numerous events to get all nostalgic about – Elvis Presley died, Roots first aired on television, Fleetwood Mac released Rumours, Star Wars premiered on the big screen, and the Atari 2600 home gaming system was released. The event that perhaps had the most significant impact on the future, however, was the release of the first personal computer. Continue reading...

Some say it’s hard to keep a good man down. Nothing more true could be said about Army Men: green plastic soldiers fixed to a molded base, which stand defiant in the face of oppression, tyranny, and latent childhood aggression - as they have for over fifty years. Let's take a look back at these valiant toy servicemen from yesteryear. Continue reading...

What a travesty it would be to have a circus without a clown. It seems no less odd than having a western without a cowboy. Such was the dilemma on the popular children’s show, Puppet Playhouse, featuring host Buffalo Bob Smith and a loveable puppet named Howdy Doody. Taking place in a circus setting, the show had everything a kid could want – except for a clown. Thankfully, along came Clarabell, a sidekick so loveable he became an icon. Continue reading...

In the 1970s, electronic games emerged as an exciting new form of entertainment quickly embraced by the nation’s youth. Arcades were no longer rooms containing pool tables and pinball machines, instead allowing for a rousing game of Pong and a few other modern marvels. The Atari game system even allowed this emerging technology into the comforts of our homes. With the kids completely enthralled by everything electronic, it became possible to sneak in an educational game or two under the radar. One of the more successful was the Little Professor, a hand-held device that taught math to unsuspecting kids. Continue reading...

It didn’t take a rocket scientist to predict that Marvel Comics superhero Spiderman would show up on the Saturday morning airwaves. From the moment it first aired in 1967, the cartoon was destined to be a classic. With legendary animator Ralph Bakshi supervising the production, and a swinging theme song so catchy it adhered to our memory as securely as Spidey climbing a skyscraper, it was pretty clear from the get-go that Spiderman would find a loyal following. Continue reading...

In the world of toys, there is the neat, the cool, the trendy, and the classic. But every once in a while, sometimes only once in a generation, comes a toy that hits all these points and also serves to help define the decade. The Big Wheel is one such toy, so iconic that they are still being pedaled down neighborhood streets four decades after their debut. Continue reading...

The folks at Rankin/Bass produced some of the most memorable Christmas specials of all time, featuring their innovative use of stop-motion animation in such hits as Santa Claus is Coming to Town and Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. But they turned to a more traditional hand-drawn medium to weave their fanciful tale about a snowman who comes to life, thanks to a magic hat, in their 1969 classic, Frosty the Snowman. Continue reading...

Earthlings have a long-held affinity for the jolly bearded fellow in the red suit who hands out Christmas presents each year. Is it any wonder that other planets might be a little jealous that we haven’t shared St. Nick with the rest of the Cosmos? Well, that all changed in 1964, when Martians took matters into their own hands in the campy sci-fi classic, Santa Claus Conquers the Martians. Continue reading...